# Preparing to find a job

## Getting started

You've been figuring out this web development stuff and building apps for a long time now and it's finally time to get paid to keep learning by working for someone else.

You're absolutely capable of getting a job but it's rarely easy to find one. You'll have to be honest with yourself about what you want and what you can offer and tackle the challenge of getting hired with the same rigor and structure that has gotten you this far.

This is as much an odds game as anything is, especially for first-time employees who haven't been "proven" by past experience. That means you'll get your fair share of rejection along the way but everyone does. You just need to keep building your skills and portfolio to make yourself a stronger candidate while continuing to send applications and get yourself out there every day.

This course will lay out a structured path to follow which should help you avoid some of the pitfalls of just diving into the process without a plan. **Read through this course completely once then use it step-by-step along the way as you go through the process**. Good luck and get after it!

## Format

This course is structured a bit differently than the others because it's much more about you getting out there than it is about learning a specific skill or building a specific project. There are a couple projects which you'll be asked to do but most of the structure here exists simply to scaffold your job search process.

## In each lesson:

1. We'll introduce the topic and provide you with its context in your overall search.
2. You'll be asked to do readings, watch videos, do online courses or otherwise consume content to help you out.
3. You'll often be asked to do specific tasks, for instance keeping track of the applications you've submitted.  This is purely to help you along the way.
4. Finally, we'll include additional helpful resources and other potentially useful tidbits at the end of each lesson.

**Enough talk, go get hired!**


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